WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced a 30-day extension to the comment period for its proposed rule to change the requirements that retailers must meet to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Retailers will now have until May 18 to file comments on the proposal.

This extension follows calls from House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Representative Jackie Walorski (R-IN) to extend the comment period during the Committee’s two-day hearing in March. A similar request was made by Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in early March. It also responds to a formal request  by NACS for an extension filed on March 9.

The proposal, as drafted, will implement the provisions included within the 2014 Farm Bill, which require retailers to stock more varieties of products in four “staple food” categories: (1) meat, poultry, or fish; (2) bread or cereal; (3) vegetables or fruits; and (4) dairy. Specifically, retailers must stock at least seven different varieties of food items in each of the four staple food categories (before the 2014 Farm Bill, retailers had to stock 3 different varieties in each staple food category). Further, retailers will be required to offer at least one perishable food item in three of those categories rather than two.

However, within the proposal, FNS also included several proposed changes that went significantly beyond the statutory requirements in the Farm Bill. Problematically, the proposal would make it so “multiple ingredient” items, such as lasagna or chicken pot-pie would not be counted in any staple food category and would not go towards a retailer’s “depth of stock” requirements. This is a dramatic change from current rules, which permit multiple ingredient items to be counted in one staple food category depending on the main ingredient. The proposal would also add a “stocking requirement” whereby retailers would always have to have six different units of any food item on display at any given time.

The proposal will make it increasingly difficult for convenience retailers to participate in the SNAP program, thereby negatively impacting the many SNAP recipients that use their benefits at convenience stores.

Be on the lookout for guidance by NACS about how to submit comments on the proposed rule in the coming days. Prior to finalizing a rule, FNS must review all comments submitted by stakeholders. Therefore, it is essential that retailers voice their concerns with the proposal so FNS understands how the proposal would impact businesses on-the-ground.